Aurélien Tchouameni: "We have come a long way, it's still positive"

They never failed! Impressive since their victory against PSG in March (3-0), until extending their incredible run to nine consecutive wins in Ligue 1, the players of AS Monaco suffered a cruel draw at the death in Lens (2-2). That point that has only allowed Philippe Clement’s teammates to finish in third place in the top flight, synonymous with a place in thr third preliminary round of the Champions League. The team’s midfielder expressed his feelings after the final whistle.

Hello Aurelien. What are your thoughts on tonight’s game?

We are obviously very disappointed. When you look at the whole match, we were seconds away from finishing second in Ligue 1. Unfortunately, things did not turn in our favor, that’s the drama of football. Tonight was not for us, maybe tomorrow will be. We did not lose our runner-up position tonight. We had to make a big “run” to find ourselves where we are, so it’s still positive overall. We have come a long way.

𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒌. 𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕.

Destination: @ChampionsLeague ✨#RampinàRiscàRepetà | #UCL pic.twitter.com/KJb45LPyr9

— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) May 22, 2022

What was missing against Lens?

We may have sat back a bit in the last quarter of an hour, but I think all the teams would have done the same. It’s an unconscious thing, we really wanted to keep this result and not concede on the counter, given that we were playing a very efficient team in this area. Once again, we were missing very little tonight, it came down to a free kick.

What was the mood in the locker room?

Everyone was very disappointed, that’s obvious. But the coach and the President took the floor to re-motivate the troops, because we must not forget that we finished third. A few months ago, if we had been told that we would finish in this position, few people would have believed it. It is very good what we have done. We would have liked to have done better, but it is already positive to be on the podium again (the 29th time in the history of the Club, a record in France).

How do you feel about returning to this stage of the Champions League play-offs?

I look at this with great excitement. I think we learned from our mistakes, gained experience by having had this journey. I am sure that we will be much better equipped to finally compete in this Champions League. We are able to do it, to beat a lot of teams in Europe, so we are calm about that.

A quick word about the many supporters who were still present to support you tonight…

Thanks to all of them! We were playing in a big stadium with a lot of Lens supporters, but I congratulate them because they made themselves heard during the match. They galvanized us, helped us to get a result. Unfortunately we are disappointed not to give them a second place finish. But if we qualify for the Champions League in August, I think we will have forgotten this match in Lens match. You have to move forward.

👏 Thank you for sticking by us this season!

DAGHE MUNEGU 🇲🇨 pic.twitter.com/NvnqcW4W8e

— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) May 21, 2022